News
Bitget Releases MENA Investor Stats On Imminent Bitcoin Halving
The crypto exchange has conducted a study revealing MENA investors’ bullish sentiment on BTC, with 82% planning increased 2024 investments.
Renowned cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company Bitget has published an extensive study examining the imminent Bitcoin halving set for April 2024 and its potential impact on investment strategies.
The global investigation included the MENA region and revealed how investors felt about the upcoming Bitcoin halving event and the alterations they plan on making to their investment strategies.
Key Findings From The Bitget Study:
- 80% of MENA investors anticipate that the halving will substantially influence Bitcoin’s price, with 54% envisioning Bitcoin’s value fluctuating between the $30,000 to $60,000 range at the time of the halving.
- 88% of MENA participants think BTC will surpass its all-time high during the upcoming bull run.
- 82% of crypto investors residing in MENA countries intend to augment their investments in 2024, with merely 4% planning a reduction in crypto holdings.
The data suggests a sense of optimism among MENA investors, both in the short-term and long-term prospects of Bitcoin. Notably, MENA crypto enthusiasm outshines that of European investors, with only Latin American crypto enthusiasts being more bullish.
Turning attention to the post-halving era, MENA investors strongly agree that BTC will outperform its previous all-time high during the impending bull run. Despite resounding optimism, only 26% of MENA investors believe the cryptocurrency will reach the $100,000 mark within the current year.
Gracy Chen, Bitget’s Managing Director, commented: “The Bitget Study on BTC halving impacts provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency investment. The findings reflect a broad spectrum of expectations and investment plans, indicating that 2024 will be a significant year for the Bitcoin market”.
Also Read: 3 Best Cold Storage Wallets For Crypto
Interestingly, investors in Eastern Asia, Western Europe, and Latin America display higher optimism about Bitcoin’s potential to reach the $100,000 to $150,000 range compared to their MENA counterparts. Nonetheless, a notable 11% of MENA investors remain even more optimistic, anticipating Bitcoin’s value to surge beyond the $150,000 threshold.
The study also unveils intriguing trends in investment plans for the year 2024. A substantial 82% of surveyed MENA investors intend to amplify their cryptocurrency investments this year, a figure that surpasses the global average of 70%.
News
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.
Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.
The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc
— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026
“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.
Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.
Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget
The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.
Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
RØDE’s New DS3 Studio Arm Is Built For Heavier Creator Setups
Dubai Turns AI On Its Own Civil Service To Measure Productivity
Former Rockstar Director Dismisses GTA 6 Leaks As “Nothing Burger”
Qatar Airways Flies The World’s First Starlink-Equipped 787-9
Spotify Will Now Tell You If Your Favorite Artist Isn’t Real
Instagram Redraws Its Wordmark And The Internet Reads “Instagzam”
Anghami’s New Elite Program Starts With A Three-Decade Catalog
Qatar Is Getting Its First EV Plant, Built To Cope With Gulf Heat
Dubai’s aradus Wants AI To Run The Back Office Of Physical Trade
-
News3 weeks agoInstagram Redraws Its Wordmark And The Internet Reads “Instagzam”
-
News3 weeks agoAnghami’s New Elite Program Starts With A Three-Decade Catalog
-
News3 weeks agoQatar Is Getting Its First EV Plant, Built To Cope With Gulf Heat
-
News3 weeks agoDubai’s aradus Wants AI To Run The Back Office Of Physical Trade